FIGHTING FIRES FROM THE AIR
2022-06-09
A new-configuration model of Chinas AG600 large amphibious aircraft in Zhuhai， Guangdong Province， on May 31. The plane conducted its successful maiden flight that same day， according to the Aviation Industry Corp. of China （AVIC）.
This aircraft is specially developed to serve firefighting missions， with a maximum take-off weight of 60 tons and maximum water-storage capacity of up to 12 tons. It fills Chinas need for large firefighting aircraft， AVIC added.
Mega Equipment
Fuyao， Chinas first deep-sea floating wind power generator， being towed from Maoming to the Luodousha Sea area in Guangdong Province on May 29. It will be tested in the area， where the average water depth is 65 meters.
Preventing Virus
Chinas customs authorities are making efforts to prevent the import of the monkeypox virus through ports while the country continues to fight against COVID-19， the General Administration of Customs （GAC） said on May 30.
The GAC has organized experts to conduct a risk assessment， issued alerts about the monkeypox virus， and taken strict measures including body temperature monitoring and medical inspection for inbound travelers.
Customs authorities have strengthened the quarantine of inbound goods and rodents， as well as enhanced biosafety management of laboratories and made solid preparations for testing， said the GAC.
The GAC has also coordinated with other government departments to prevent the risk of imported cases.
Outbound and inbound travelers should voluntarily report to customs officers if they feel sick or have symptoms such as fever， headache， or sore muscles， said the GAC.
Buddhist Grotto
A grotto with 20 Buddhist statues dating to the Ming Dynasty（1368-1644） has been found in Shahe City， Hebei Province， Xinhua News Agency reported on May 30.
Built in 1503， the grotto is located on the hillside in Beipenshui Village at an altitude of 1，200 meters. The grotto measures 5.8 meters wide and 2.8 meters high. The 20 stone Buddhist statues with different postures and expressions are situated on stone pedestals in the grotto.
A cliff tablet， which is 2 meters high and 0.69 meter wide， has also been found outside the grotto.1E6417D4-C03C-4092-8923-5363AD7165D7
Han Zhigang， director of the cultural relics protection institute of Shahe City， said that the inscription on the cliff tablet recorded that the ancestors of a local family had moved there from another village to trim trees， cultivate mountain fields and build Buddhist statues.
The grotto is well-preserved， providing important materials for the study of the local grotto culture in Shahe City， Han said.
Lower Mortality Rates
Chinas maternal and infant mortality rates have both dropped to a historic low， the National Health Commission said on May 30.
In 2021， China recorded a maternal mortality rate of 16.1 per 100，000， said Song Li， head of the commissions department of maternal and child health. At the same time， the mortality rates of infants and children under five have decreased to 5 per 1，000 and 7.1 per 1，000， respectively， both dropping to a record low.
Compared with 10 years ago， the maternal mortality rate， the mortality rates of infants and children under five have dropped by 38 percent， 58 percent and 54 percent， respectively， Song said.
Song noted that the country has made notable achievements in building healthcare mechanisms for women and children， improving related health services， and ensuring equal access to these services.
With the improvement of the medical system， people in China now enjoy more equal access to maternal and child health services， Song said， adding that the rate of women giving birth in hospitals has remained above 99 percent in recent years.
New Football Season
Football fans will be allowed to watch the opener of the 2022 Chinese Super League （CSL） from inside the stadium as the new season kicks off in June， the organizers confirmed on May 28.
CSL had planned to restore the home-and-away schedule this season but eventually decided to hold the starting phase of the season in the cities of Meizhou in Guangdong Province， Haikou in Hainan Province and Dalian in Liaoning Province due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
According to the schedule released on May 28， the first phase（rounds 1-10） of the CSL runs from June 3 to July 12. During the 40-day phase， 18 clubs will play a total of 90 matches.
The organizers also expect that the local governments of the three host cities will open up important matches to fans.
Well Prepared
Senior high school students take part in an arm-wrestling game at a high school in Jinzhou， Hebei Province， on May 27， ahead of the national college entrance exam which was to be held on June 7 and 8. Schools in Hebei Province have organized activities to help students relax and stay in their best shape for the examination.1E6417D4-C03C-4092-8923-5363AD7165D7
Newly Elected Council Members
Two Chinese industry leaders were elected council members of the International Federation of Translators （FIT）， a global grouping of professional associations， at a congress in Varadero， Cuba， on May 30-31.
They are Gao Anming， Executive Vice President and Secretary General of the Translators Association of China（TAC）， and Lai Cheng Lei Victoria， President of the Federation of Translators and Interpreters of Macao. Gao is also vice president and editor in chief of China International Communications Group， a Beijing-based media conglomerate specializing in communicating the countrys messages to audiences around the world.
Their election will drive exchanges between the Chinese translation community and its international counterparts， while enabling TAC to play a greater role in helping the world better understand China， a TAC statement read.
Little Architects
Children learn about metering at a construction site in Xian， Shaanxi Province， on May 28. Under the guidance of professionals， more than 20 children attended the event as “little architects” ahead of the International Childrens Day.
Wine Yeast
Chinese researchers have cultivated two local wine yeast strains and also found largescale industrial applications for them， according to the Northwest Agriculture and Forestry University （NWAFU） in Shaanxi Province.
Chinas wine industry has long relied solely on imported wine yeast， and this research is changing that trend.
The NWAFU research team spent 22 years collecting and optimizing local yeast strains， and established a germplasm bank of more than 20，000 local wine yeast strains.
Large-scale industrial application has been realized for CECA and CEC01， two excellent local wine yeast strains with strong tolerance， strong fermentation ability and strong aroma expression ability， according to the university.
The two types of yeast have now replaced 30 percent of imported yeasts， and they have been exported to several traditional European wine-producing countries.
The achievements have promoted the technological upgrade and sustainable devel- opment of Chinas wine industry， the university said.
The research was jointly conducted by a number of scientific research institutions and enterprises. Its results have received 10 national authorized invention patents， and have been applied in all grape cultivation areas in China.1E6417D4-C03C-4092-8923-5363AD7165D7
PMI Rebound
The purchasing managers index（PMI）—a key gauge of manufacturing activity—came in at 49.6 in May， up from 47.4 in April， data from the National Bureau of Statistics （NBS） showed on May 31.
A reading above 50 indicates expansion and below that mark， contraction.
“Chinas economy took a hit from the Omicron outbreak and changes in the international situation， but it has improved in May due to the effective coordination of COVID-19 containment and economic and social development，” NBS senior statistician Zhao Qinghe said.
The sub-index for production stood at 49.7 in May， up 5.3 percentage points from the previous month， and the sub-index for new orders reached 48.2， up 5.6 percentage points from April.
“Among the 21 industries surveyed， the number of industries with PMI in the expansion zone increased to 12 in May from nine in April， showing positive changes in the countrys manufacturing sector，” Zhao said.
In May， the sub-index measuring supplier delivery time rose 6.9 percentage points to 44.1， indicating that logistics remained slow despite some improvement.
The purchase price index for primary raw materials stood at 55.8， 8.4 percentage points lower than the previous month， but still running at a relatively high level.
The PMI for the nonmanufacturing sector came in at 47.8 in May， up from 41.9 in April， according to the NBS.
Cleaner Energy
The government issued an official clean energy action plan on May 30， specifying 21 policies to bring Chinas combined wind and solar power capacity to 1.2 billion kWh by 2030.
The document was created by the National Development and Reform Commission and the National Energy Administration， and was published by the General Office of the State Council.
It said the country will accelerate the building of large wind power and photovoltaic bases in deserts， and will also encourage distributed power generation in villages， industrial parks and building rooftops. By 2025， half of all new buildings of public institutions will have solar power facilities on their rooftops.
Power grids will be improved to accept more power from distributed new-energy projects， and efforts will be made to push forward the share of new energy in the electricity market.
National new-energy laboratories will be built， with the emphasis on basic theoretical research and cutting-edge and disruptive technologies. More efforts will be channeled into making breakthroughs in solar cells and wind power equipment. The technology of recycling wind turbines and photovoltaic modules is another priority.1E6417D4-C03C-4092-8923-5363AD7165D7
The new-energy industry will receive stronger intellectual-property protection， and international cooperation in the area will be improved. There will also be more fiscal and financial policy support for the sector， such as from green bonds and credit.
Upbeat Outlook
Foreign-funded enterprises were generally optimistic about the new opportunities of Chinas highquality development， and their expectations and confidence in future growth remained stable， according to a recent survey conducted by the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade.
Compared with the fourth quarter of 2021， 71 percent of surveyed foreign enterprises maintained their business scale in the January-March period， while 16.4 percent saw expansion， according to the survey.
It also found that 13.5 percent of the companies planned to increase investment in the worlds second largest economy.
Some 42.6 percent of them said they would choose the Yangtze River Delta as the main destination for investment.
Foreign enterprises had a somewhat favorable view of the municipal public infrastructure construction， promotion of market competition and acquisition of business sites， the survey showed， adding that they were generally satisfied with the macroeconomy and regulatory policies.
Trade Surplus
China reported a surplus in its international trade in goods in April， data from the State Administration of Foreign Exchange （SAFE） showed on May 27.
Exports came in at 1.6666 trillion yuan （$247.3 billion）， and imports at 1.3568 trillion yuan（$203.4 billion）， resulting in a surplus of 309.9 billion yuan （$46.5 billion）.
In the same month， the country saw a deficit of 42.9 billion yuan （$6.4 billion） in international trade in services.
The total trade volume came in at 3.4427 trillion yuan （$516.1 billion） in April， basically unchanged from the same period last year.
Investment Assets
Chinas external portfolio investment assets， excluding reserve assets， amounted to $979.7 billion by the end of 2021， according to SAFE.
Of the total， $648.4 billion was in equity investments and $331.3 billion was in bond investments.
Non-bank financial institutions held $390.4 billion of external portfolio investment assets， accounting for 40 percent of the total. Banks held $238.1 billion， or 24 percent of the total.
The non-financial sector held $351.2 billion of such assets， accounting for 36 percent of the countrys total， SAFE said.1E6417D4-C03C-4092-8923-5363AD7165D7
The top five recipients of Chinese investments were Chinas Hong Kong Special Administrative Region， the United States， the Cayman Islands， the British Virgin Islands and the United Kingdom.
Digital Economy
Beijing released an action plan for the development of its digital economy on May 30， putting forward measures such as improving the supply capacity of digital technology and nurturing the ecology for its innovation.
The city will focus on breakthroughs in core technologies in high-end chips， artificial intelligence， key software， blockchain， privacy computing， urban space operating systems and other fields.
Domestic and foreign opensource projects and institutions will be attracted to land in Beijing， and efforts to open and share data will be further intensified， according to the plan.
In the first quarter of 2022， the value added of Beijings digital economy reached 387.36 billion yuan （$57.9 billion）， up 7.2 percent year on year， accounting for 41.2 percent of the citys GDP， official data showed.
Telecom Sector
The telecommunications sector posted 529.2 billion yuan （$78.5 billion） in aggregate revenue during the first four months of the year， up 8.8 percent year on year， according to the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology.
Emerging businesses， including big data， cloud computing， and Internet data centers， expanded notably during the period. The emerging business revenue of the three telecom giants， namely China Telecom， China Mobile and China Unicom， surged 35 percent year on year to 103.9 billion yuan （$15.6 billion）.
Revenue for cloud computing services and big data expanded by 132.6 percent and 57.3 percent year on year， respectively.
By the end of April， China had 1.615 million 5G base stations， with 190，000 built during the first four months of the year.
NUMBERS
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